MOTIVATION MONDAY: STAYING MOTIVATED AT THE GYM!

Hello Humans! So January is coming to an end, which usually means that people give up their New Year's Resolutions round about now. So let's try and keep you motivated and keep that goal!!


WAYS TO STAY MOTIVATED:

• Get a gym playlist.

I think it's super important to have a playlist for EVERYTHING! And it's even more important to have one for your gym sessions. I stole mine from my best friend, and then I added my own taste to it also (i.e. One Direction).

Here's my Gym Playlist:

Feel free to to take mine and adapt it in any way you want to. But when I (finally) do my own workouts, listening to my playlist really helps and motivates me to keep going even when I'm tired.

• Do your research.

I've been starting to put a folder together, finding out what types of food I should be eating for what I want to achieve, the workouts I should be doing, etc. I think it's really important if you're going to take this seriously, that you figure out the best way of achieving your goal. 

For example, I was told at my first personal training session that if you want to gain muscle, you should be doing 5-7 reps with weights. If you're wanting to tone, you do 8-12 reps with weights. And if you're wanting to lose weight (like me), you should be doing 12-20 reps. And to me that was crazy! Because why am I - someone that's just wanting to lose weight - doing more work than someone who's wanting to gain muscle. And then it hit me. Someone who's wanting to lose weight, will be using bigger weights than what I would be, who's just wanting to lose weight. 

How many calories you should be in-taking a day due to your fitness goal, and also what kinds of food you should be eating. Make sure you do your research. And if you're a real nerd like me, create a file and keep it all together.

• Don't give in.

I know some days you literally cannot be arsed. Trust me - I get that. Heck, I don't exercise every single time I plan to (I'll get onto that on my next point), but when I've got myself to the gym and then I think, "actually... I don't want to do a workout." I usually get my gym playlist on, look at the workout that I've planned and take it in steps. Pick the right song, get your warm up done, and then take it slowly. Don't push yourself.

• Listen to your body.

Even though I've said previously, "don't give up", "make sure you do your sessions", etc. But you also need to remember to listen to your body. Because if you're physically not up to doing a workout - DO NOT DO IT! I've skipped the gym because my body felt exhausted, I didn't get enough sleep or I didn't feel right in myself. Yes you feel guilty, but it's okay to have a day of rest. You don't need to go 7 days a week. Start off with 4 or 5 days a week. Take it slow and listen to your body.

And here are some of my top tips of staying motivated. Let me know how you keep motivated and what steps you use to keep up with the fitness.